Franco-Iranian anthropologist Fariba Adelkhah was sentenced to five years in prison for "Collusion to harm national security", said his lawyer, Said Dehghan, on Saturday May 16. His arrest in June 2019 had been denounced by France, which is demanding his release, as is its support committee in Paris.
According to Me Dehghan, who did not specify the date of conviction, the researcher also receives a one-year prison sentence for "Propaganda against the system" of the Islamic Republic, but it must serve only the longest sentence. These two convictions are, however, subject to appeal.
France "Condemn with the utmost firmness" Iran’s sentence against Fariba Adelkhah, who "Is not based on any serious element or established fact and is therefore of a political nature", Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Saturday in a statement.
Arrested and detained in Evin prison in Tehran since June 2019, this 61-year-old Shiism specialist is a researcher at the Sciences Po Paris International Research Center. In an email to its students, the Institute of Political Studies commented:
"This terrible news, as revolting as it is unacceptable, arouses anger, sadness and indignation in all of us, but it does not lead us to give up. "
Very weakened by hunger strike
Arrests of foreigners in Iran, including binationals, often accused of spying, have increased since the United States' unilateral withdrawal in 2018 from the Iranian international nuclear agreement and the reinstatement of harsh American sanctions against Tehran. Iran does not recognize dual nationality.
The researcher had been very weakened by a 49-day hunger strike between late December and February, according to her lawyer. He had recently indicated that the researcher suffered from a "Kidney disease, consequence of (his) hunger strike".
After his hunger strike, his support committee was alarmed by the risks of the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic in prisons in Iran, one of the most affected countries in the world with nearly 7,000 deaths. Saturday, the committee denounced on Saturday "Opaque process" in which the legal proceedings took place, relating him to "Kafka trial".
His companion arrested and then released
His trial opened on March 3 before the 15e Chamber of the Tehran Revolutionary Court. The second hearing took place on March 19, according to his lawyer. His colleague and companion, Roland Marchal – also a researcher at CERI at Sciences Po Paris -, arrested in June 2019 when he came to visit him, was released at the end of March when an Iranian engineer threatened with extradition was released simultaneously in France to the United States, Jalal Rohollahnejad.
Since"At least two people must be involved" in the accusation of "Collusion to harm national security", the second person may be Mr. Marchal, whose case has not been closed despite his release, Dehghan said. He considers that the accusation of "Propaganda against the political system" refers to the researcher's opinion on the wearing of the veil in Iran, but, according to him, these are remarks by an academic above all, more than a value judgment.
